Floods, landslides kill many in Indonesia, Thailand

At least seven people were killed, two others were injured and some were likely to be missing after flash floods and landslides hit the Indonesian eastern province of Maluku on the morning of August 25, according to the locality’s disaster management and mitigation office.

Flash floods and landslides hit the Indonesian eastern province of Maluku on the morning of August 25

Heavy rainfall, which began on August 24, has triggered the disasters in Ternate city. Many local residents are in urgent need of support, authorities said.

Soldiers, police, local search and rescue personnel, disaster management staff, and volunteers are all involved in the ongoing rescue efforts, which include evacuating those trapped by the landslides and recovering materials from homes swept away by the floods.

Meanwhile in Thailand, local authorities reported that the death toll from a landslide in the popular resort province of Phuket on August 23 has risen to 13, including a Russian couple.

Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat said that torrential rains last week triggered landslides near the Big Buddha statue, a popular tourist destination in the province.

Among the dead were nine migrant workers from Myanmar and two Thais. The landslides also injured about 20 people and affected 209 households.

Thai authorities are contacting the victims’ relatives and embassies of the countries with dead victims to discuss what to do next./.

VNA